CDC Group, United kingdom’s impact investor and development finance institution (DFI) says it will invest over US$1 billion (KSh110 billion) in African businesses in 2021.
The funds will be invested in financial institutions, infrastructure and climate, services, manufacturing, agriculture, real estate and technology.
In 2020, CDC committed over $1 billion into Africa focusing on economic recovery from COVID-19.
CDC announced the plans at the UK-Africa Investment Conference to expand its Africa portfolio with new investments in key markets including Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and other frontier markets in the continent.
CDC has invested more than £2.7 billion in African businesses over the past three years. In 2019, CDC’s investments supported over 320,000 direct jobs in Africa, contributing close to US$1.5 billion in taxes to local economies.
Nick O’Donohoe, Chief Executive Officer of CDC, said: “2020 was a challenging year for African economies and businesses, which have been heavily affected by COVID-19. As an impact investor and DFI, CDC is committed to providing long-term investment, particularly in challenging times. As FDI continues to drop, we maintain our steadfast commitment to African businesses as they play a leading role in accelerating Africa’s economic and human development.”
Our CEO, @nickodonohoe, is speaking at @tradegovuk's Africa Investment Conference this morning. Nick's discussing our investments into the continent during 2020 and our plans for the year ahead ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/MlUJAvxMcd
— British International Investment (@BritishIntInv) January 20, 2021